Father Time (novel)

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Father Time was the forty-first novel in the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures series. It was written by Lance Parkin, released 8 January 2001 and featured the Eighth Doctor and his adoptive daughter, Miranda Dawkins.

On the BBC Cult website, an "introduction" to Father Time, aptly named Father Time: "Set Visit", was released. It portrayed a speculative world in which Father Time was a serial of Doctor Who filmed in 2001.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

"I love her," the Doctor said.

"Of course you do, she's your daughter."

Earth in the nineteen-eighties is a battleground. Rival alien factions have travelled from the far future to pursue their vendetta.

With UFOs filling the skies, a giant robot stalking the Derbyshire hills, and alien hunters searching for the mysterious Last One, the Doctor is the only man who can protect the innocents caught in the crossfire.

But old scores are being settled, the fate of a Galactic Empire is at stake, and, against his will, the Doctor is drawn into a decade-long war that will strike at those he holds most dear.

The Doctor has lost his memory, his friends, his past and his TARDIS.

All he has now is the love of his daughter.

But will even that be taken from him?

Chapter titles[[edit] | [edit source]]

0. Planet of Death

Part One ‘Battle of the Planets’ - The Early 1980s

1. Knights and Castles
2. The Doctor
3. The Girl with Two Hearts
4. Close Encounters
5. Contact
6. Talking to Strangers
7. Inside the Spaceship
8. Prefect Timing
9. The Last Battle

Part Two ‘Masters of the Universe’ - The Mid-1980s

10. Eighties’ Child
11. UFO Detected
12. Voices from the Past
13. The Black Tower
14. The Interrogation Game
15. Target Acquisition
16. The Party of Doom
17. Urban Regeneration
18. Escape to Destiny
19. Date with Death
20. Don’t Leave Me This Way

Part Three ‘Defenders of the Earth’ - The Late 1980s

21. All Around the World
22. Today America, Tomorrow the World
23. Escape Velocity
24. Home is Where the Hearts Are
25. Power to the People
26. Death in the Family
27. Death Comes to Time
28. The Next Generation

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor sees Mr Saldaamir and Daleks in a vision of his future.
  • The Doctor remembers waking up in a train carriage over a century ago.
  • The Doctor has an eidetic memory.
  • On 28 May 1976, while amnesic, the Doctor spent time with a young widow named Claudia in England.
  • He plays chess and beats all the members of the school chess club.
  • The Klade worry that the Doctor is from before Last Contact.

The Doctor's items[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor has built a sonic suitcase that can (amongst other things) open doors with sonic vibrations.
  • The TARDIS outer shell is fully regenerated, including the writing and the light on top. He keeps it in his garden.
  • The Doctor drives a Trabant, which he obtained in East Germany.

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Neo-phobus (aka Voga) is mentioned.
  • Falkus, one of Skaro's moons, is mentioned several times.

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Klade are implied to have been created by the Daleks.
  • The Hunters are humanoid with elongated bodies.
  • Faction Klade are members of an alliance from the far future.

Vehicles[[edit] | [edit source]]

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Art by Roger Langridge from DWM 301
  • This is the fifth story in the "Earth Arc".
  • The three parts of this novel are set in three time periods: "The Early 1980s", "The Mid-1980s", and "The Late 1980s".
    • Miranda turns 16 in Part Two. Part Three is three years later in November when she is 19.
    • Guns 'N Roses (1987) and Phil Collin's "Two Hearts" (1988) are mentioned in Part Two.
    • The Doctor saw Bill and Ted (1989) in Part Three.
    • February 2001 is "a little over eleven years" from Part Three.
    • Despite conflicting references, PROSE: Trading Futures confirmed Part Three is set in 1989. This places Part Two in 1986.
  • Miranda appears in later novels, and is also featured in a spin-off comic series, Miranda, published during 2003.
  • The subtitles for each part are cartoons of the 1980s: Battle of the Planets, Masters of the Universe, and Defenders of the Earth.
  • Claudia is a reference to Claudia Marwood from the 1997 erotic novel The Stranger by Portia Da Costa published by Virgin Books under their Black Lace range. The book is centred around an amnesiac character named Dr. Paul Bowman who is a thinly veiled version of the Eighth Doctor.
  • The Doctor instigating Last Contact was to feature in Lance Parkin's unfinished Enemy of the Daleks, originally slotted for release in November 1999. The novel would have also linked to Parkin's The Infinity Doctors and Kate Orman and Jon Blum's Unnatural History. It is unclear in Father Time (or perhaps intentionally ambiguous) if Last Contact had not yet happened for the Doctor, or if it was an unseen or unpublished adventure wiped with the rest of his memories.
  • Lance Parkin has written two stories set between events in the novel that expand on its events:
    • Iris Explains, published in the charity anthology Missing Pieces, shows the "Jane Fonda" Iris visiting the Doctor and Miranda, expanding on Miranda's recollection of Iris's visit in the novel. The story claims Miranda's full name is "Miranda Who".
    • The School of Doom, published in Myth Makers #12, features the Doctor and Miranda facing the Headmaster on the first day of school. This story provides more information about the four surviving elementals.

Father Time – The Album[[edit] | [edit source]]

Lance Parkin included a list of songs at the end of the novel:

  1. Babylon’s Burning, The Ruts
  2. Prince Charming, Adam and the Ants
  3. Wuthering Heights, Kate Bush
  4. Fashion, David Bowie
  5. No More Heroes, The Stranglers
  6. Who’s That Girl, Eurythmics
  7. The Power of Love, Frankie Goes to Hollywood
  8. Love Kills, Freddie Mercury
  9. Opportunities, Pet Shop Boys
  10. Panic, The Smiths
  11. Everybody Wants to Rule The World, Tears for Fears
  12. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
  13. Nineteen, Paul Hardcastle
  14. And She Was, Talking Heads
  15. The Only Way is Up, Yazz and the Plastic Population
  16. Who’s Leaving Who, Hazel Dean
  17. All Around the World, Lisa Stansfield
  18. Sweet Child of Mine, Guns N Roses
  19. Your Love Takes Me Higher, The Beloved
  20. Electric Chair, Prince
  21. Swamp Thing, The Chameleons
  22. Fool’s Gold, Stone Roses
  23. A Small Victory, Faith No More
  24. I Want It All, Queen

Reprint[[edit] | [edit source]]

This book is available as an ebook from the Amazon Kindle store.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

v • e
BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures
Sam
Susan
Sam
Fitz, Sam
Sam, Fitz, Compassion
Third Doctor, Sarah
Fitz, Compassion
Solo travels
Anji, Fitz
Anji, Fitz, Trix
Fitz, Trix
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